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Mesoraco catches wins in past two starts

NEW YORK -- Although it's not necessarily a reflection of his performance, the starting catcher won-loss record has skewed heavily against Reds rookie Devin Mesoraco this season. While pitchers are 15-6 with Ryan Hanigan behind the plate, they are 4-11 with Mesoraco.

However, the Reds have won the last two games Mesoraco caught -- on Wednesday against the Mets and Monday against the Braves. Mesoraco primarily catches for starters Homer Bailey and Mike Leake.

"He was wondering [about his record] but he was catching Leake and Homer," Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said on Thursday. "It's not like he's catching [Johnny] Cueto every day. He's catching two of our younger guys, two of the probably least experienced guys we've got. They're inexperienced and he's inexperienced."

Baker wasn't surprised that it hasn't all been smooth sailing for Mesoraco, who entered the season as the club's No. 1 prospect.

"I told you when the season started, the two most volatile positions on this team, because of lack of experience, was our rookie shortstop and our rookie catcher," Baker said. "They're two of the most important positions nearly on the team. You've got to teach them. It's part of the job. He's a good student. He asks questions and he accepts being critiqued."

NEW YORK -- Although it's not necessarily a reflection of his performance, the starting catcher won-loss record has skewed heavily against Reds rookie Devin Mesoraco this season. While pitchers are 15-6 with Ryan Hanigan behind the plate, they are 4-11 with Mesoraco.

However, the Reds have won the last two games Mesoraco caught -- on Wednesday against the Mets and Monday against the Braves. Mesoraco primarily catches for starters Homer Bailey and Mike Leake.

"He was wondering [about his record] but he was catching Leake and Homer," Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said on Thursday. "It's not like he's catching [Johnny] Cueto every day. He's catching two of our younger guys, two of the probably least experienced guys we've got. They're inexperienced and he's inexperienced."

Baker wasn't surprised that it hasn't all been smooth sailing for Mesoraco, who entered the season as the club's No. 1 prospect.

"I told you when the season started, the two most volatile positions on this team, because of lack of experience, was our rookie shortstop and our rookie catcher," Baker said. "They're two of the most important positions nearly on the team. You've got to teach them. It's part of the job. He's a good student. He asks questions and he accepts being critiqued."

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.